After months of intense, top-secret, sometimes factious debate, Russia has officially adopted a new flag. Replacing the former flag, with its three stripes of white, blue, and red, the new flag has six stripes, representing the six principal rivers of Russia (Volga, Moskva, Neva, Ob, Don, and Ural).

“The former flag,” explains Dmitry Anokhin, Russian minister of flags and symbols, “was objectionable not only because of its ties to the Dutch Republic, but also because it contained a white stripe, white being the color of surrender. This new flag does not contain the color white, has no ties to the Dutch Republic, and thus is altogether superior.”

Public reaction to the new flag has been mixed, with flag manufacturers overwhelmingly supporting the innovation, the minister of finance being strongly opposed.

Sputnik posing with the new Russian flag

In the near future, expect to see flag enthusiasts of many nations—but particularly Russians—flying this new flag publicly.

Ivan the Terrible posing with the new flag of Russia.

“Official Portrait of Vladimir Putin,” Presidential Press and Information Office, www.Kremlin.ru.CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0) or CC BY 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)] via Wikimedia Commons. Altered by The Flying News. “Replica of Sputnik 1,” by NSSDC, NASA. Public Domain. Altered by The Flying News. “Tsar Ivan The Terrible,” by Viktor Vasnetsov. Public Domain. Detail. Altered by The Flying News. Note that The Flying News, this particular article, the alteration of this photograph, humor, and Vladimir Putin are not endorsed by www.kremlin.ru, the Russian Government, Sputnik 1, Ivan the Terrible, Vladimir Putin, or any other known entity, including the inhabitants of Russia, China, North America, Mars, or Venus.